Marik's First Halloween
by DataCow40
Summary: Marik's lived underground his whole life, and wants to know what this 'Halloween' thing is. (ygotas personalities, feefshipping)
1. Part 1

((This fic is based on a conversation a friend of mine and I had, where we realized that Marik probably never got to celebrate Halloween growing up.))

"So, your host was telling me about this holiday that happens at the end of October," Marik said.

Bakura looked at Marik over the top of his book before raising his eyebrow questioningly. "Oh, really, you talked with him?"

"Uh-huh," Marik said idly, more focused on twirling his blond bangs than looking at the person next to him on the couch."I just want to make sure I fully understand this whole 'Hall-o-ween' thing. Ryou was talking really fast," he continued, complete with air quotes.

"Yeah, Ryou does enjoy Halloween a little too much, in my opinion," Bakura nodded, also only paying partial attention. "Yeah, sure, walk me through what he tried to explain to you."

"Okay, so, on October 31, in the evening," Marik began, letting go of the stand of hair to gesture fully with his hands, "People, well, usually children, dress up as either scary things or a character they really like.."

"Uh-huh," Bakura nodded absentmindedly.

"-Which, by the way, is just a nice way of saying 'cosplay,'" Marik continued, "Anyway, the kids cosplay. Then, they go door-to-door _in_ their cosplay, knocking on people's doors, and then they demand candy? Am I right?"

"So far," Bakura nodded again.

"But the craziest thing to me is, people _except_ these small children to demand the candy, so they go out and _buy_ some for the _express purpose_ of appeasing them!"

"Well, when you say it like that, it does sound a _little_ silly," Bakura acknowledged with a wave of his hand, "But people have been doing this for years, its not really _that_ foreign of a concept."

"Bakura, I literally grew up living under a rock. Sandstone, to be exact. _EVERYTHING_ is a foreign concept," Marik said with the most serious of looks on his face.

Bakura paused for a second to consider what his partner-in-crime had just said. "... Good point," was the only reply he could muster.

Marik nodded his head to accept Bakura's statement before continuing, "I'm not dissing it, I just find it kind of funny. But it's definitely _not_ the weirdest thing I've heard of..." Marik trailed off. He zoned out for a second, staring off into the distance, before shuddering and coming back to reality. "I actually want to do it."

"Do what?" Bakura asked, interest finally peaked.

"I wanna do Halloween! I want free candy, dangit! I mean, who doesn't like free candy? Monsters, that's who," Marik said with a curt nod of his head. His mind was made up.

Bakura chuckled, "Well, first of all, the candy-collecting act is called 'trick-or-treating.' Halloween is the name of the day. Secondly, you're just a _tad_ bit old to be trick-or-treating. The oldest you can be without getting funny looks or restraining orders is 14, and even then, _THAT'S_ a stretch."

Marik sunk down temporarily in the couch in defeat. "Aw..." he mumbled under his breath. He was quiet for a whole 3 seconds before springing up again. "Wait, then why the heck does _Ryou_ gets so excited?"

"-Because there's more to Halloween than the candy, Marik. There's also the whole 'scaring-the-crap-out-of-everyone' aspect. And Ryou likes to throw a great big Halloween party with creepy food and spooky lighting to scare people. In fact, he invited us this year." Bakura explained.

Marik's whole face lit up. "Really, he _does_ that?" Marik asked in awe. "Because that sounds _really_ cool!"

"Yeah, well, it's all fun and games until everyone gets too creeped out by the lights flickering and the house creaking to really enjoy themselves," Bakura huffed.

"-But do we get to wear costumes?" Marik asked, nudging Bakura with his elbow.

"...Yes..." Bakura said at length, giving Marik a concerned sideways glance.

"-And do we get to eat sugary food?" Marik asked, ignoring the look Bakura was giving him.

"There will be enough sugar to fuel a small child for 3 days straight," Bakura nodded, concern and fear growing evident on his face.

"Then it's settled! We will go to Ryou's Halloween party, and then afterward we will take candy from children!" Marik exclaimed, hopping off the couch, "Because we have to do at least _one_ evil thing a week to be considered villains on this show."

"Oh, joy," Bakura said in the most deadpan voice he could produce. Frankly, it was endearing to see Marik get so excited about something he had missed out on growing up. When he caught himself smiling, however, he deepened his frown. _"You've gone soft, Florence,"_ he thought to himself, _"And yet, you are strangely okay with it."_


	2. Part 2- The Party

The sun was beginning to set as the pair approached the house, making the entire scene glow in a vibrant orange hue. Had it not been for the various decorations littering the yard, one would of assumed it was a typical autumn evening. However, there were fake gravestones planted up the pathway, and faux cobwebs over most of the trees and bushes. Jack-o-lanterns with yellow and orange LEDs flickered gently, lighting the way, and feeding into the Halloween atmosphere. As they walked up the path, Marik fidgeted with the bandages around his left arm, then he asked, "Do you think I'm going to have to keep re-wrapping my arms? Or do you think they'll stay for the whole night?"

"Well, if you keep playing with them, yes," Bakura answered chidingly as he adjusted his collar and the cuffs of his sleeves.

"I can't help it, they feel weird," Marik pouted, releasing the strip of bandage he was holding to let it hang loosely from his wrist.

"You should have thought about that when you decided to be a mummy," Bakura teased, lopsided smirk showing off his fangs.

"Well, I _would_ have been a vampire, but _SOMEBODY_ -" Marik explained, glaring at Bakura, "-beat me to that. And there was _no_ way in the Shadow Realm that I was wearing the same thing as you." He crossed his arms angrily, before mumbling, "I totally would have looked sexier as a vampire."

"Keep telling yourself that," Bakura chuckled.

"You cannot deny the truth, Bakura," Marik said with a smirk of his own as they stopped in front of the door. Marik tucked his bangs back under his wrappings before pushing the doorbell. Instead of a simple buzz, they heard the eery chiming of bells.

"He even has a ominous doorbell?" Bakura questioned.

"I like it," Marik smiled, before rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet and his toes. Clearly, Bakura observed, he was excited. Bakura heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching the door. The door slowly opened, as if whoever was opening it was trying to build dramatic tension. A pair of brown eyes peeked out briefly, before the door swung open to its fullest width.

"Bakura! Marik! You made it!," Ryou exclaimed, arms stretched out. Marik's eyes widened when he saw Ryou. Ryou had long, gory stitches running down either side of his face, and another one across his forehead. His skin was a sickeningly pale shade of peach, and his brown eyes seemed glossy and distant. His typically neat and tidy white hair was tangled and matted, and it appeared to have dried blood clumping strands together. Two steel gray bolts stuck out either side of his neck. He also had a red, infected gash of his left arm that seemed to be oozing pus and blood. His clothes were baggy and torn, and he seemed to favor his right leg over his left.

"Hello, host," Bakura nodded, not even batting an eye at Ryou's appearance. Marik, however, couldn't help but comment:

"Ryou, you look _terrible_!"

Ryou smiled at Marik's observation. "I know, isn't it great?" He laughed, "It took me forever to put all this makeup on, but it was totally worth it! I can't wait to see Joey's face. He is going to _freak_ out _BIG_ time."

Marik smiled warily and nodded his head, "So, it's just makeup? Even that cut on your arm?"

Ryou nodded happily, "Yup, especially this bad boy." He raised his arm to gesture to the gash, "I figured some dark humor would be appropriate for tonight."

Bakura nodded his head in agreement. Marik looked between the two, not sure exactly what to say or do. He was, for once, fully relying on Bakura to help him through this situation. He choose to follow Bakura's lead, and nodded at Ryou. They stood outside the door a few moments longer, letting the silence grow, until Ryou invited them inside.

Once inside Ryou's living room, Marik's eyes widened again. The room was dimly lit, with little electric candles being the main source of light. Their light wavered, making the room feel both inviting and ominous. Fake cobwebs seemed caked onto the ceiling , with small plastic spiders scattered throughout. A coffin was leaned against the back wall, and in front of it sat a table laid out with all sorts of orange, purple, and black treats. Two couches were positioned opposite each over, with a coffee table between. The coffee table had a cauldron on top, with bottles of all shapes and sizes, filled with many different colors of liquid scattered around it. The bookcase on the left was filled with many books and small nicknacks. Some of them Marik recognized as Ryou's Monster World figurines, while others seemed to be wooden blocks carved into several famous monsters and ghouls. The right wall was dominated by a large window, with thick, velvety curtains drawn in front of it. Underneath the window was a plain wooden bench.

Marik compared the scene to something he expected to see inside a witch's hut. He smiled brightly as he entered the room properly and sat down on one of the couches. He bounced his leg is excitement, before asking Ryou, "Where is everybody else?"

Ryou shrugged, "I'm not sure, probably at home getting ready. But, I'm sure they'll be here soon. You can have some of the food while you wait, I'm going to go get the music started." With that, Ryou turned and limped out of the room.

No one had to tell Marik twice to begin eating. As soon as Ryou had turned his back to him, Marik was off the couch and at the table. He grabbed a plate and napkin and reach for a cupcake, before slowly moving his hand to grab a handful of puppy chow*. His hand lingered between the two choices, before he loudly whispered to the other in the room, "Bakura, help me here! Which should I eat first?"

"How the heck should I know?" Bakura shrugged, taking a seat on the bench under the window.

"You lived in the guy's head, so tell me, which one will taste better?!" Marik hissed, stomping his foot.

"The cupcakes, I guess," Bakura answered, leaning back coyly. "No need to throw a hissy-fit over it," he added, before pausing momentarily. He then asked, "And why are we whisper-yelling?"

"Because I don't want Ryou to hear me asking; that would be awkward," Marik said. He carefully picked up a cupcake with bright orange frosting before continuing, "And I haven't eaten for 6 hours, and I've been waiting all friggin' week for this party!"

"Okay, okay, fair enough," Bakura nodded, hands up in surrender.

Marik nodded his head to accept Bakura's surrender. When he did, part of his wrapping slipped down over his left eye. Marik pouted at the bandage, before fixing it with his free hand. Bakura chuckled at Marik. Marik glared back at him, before pouring himself a glass of punch.

As he sat down with his treats, Ryou re-entered the room, portable speakers, aux cable, and phone in hand. Ryou smiled at the two before moving across the room to set the speakers down at the end of the concession table. He plugged his phone in with the cable, tapped the screen a few times, then set it down on the table next to the speakers. A few seconds later, music began to play.

As soon as the song started, Marik froze, mid-bite of his cupcake. He swollen the bite in his mouth before asking, "Really, the _Ghostbuster's_ theme?"

"It's a good song, and I think fighting ghost is pretty Halloween-y," Ryou explained, sitting on the couch opposite Marik, "Besides, it's really catchy, too!"

"So catchy that it gets stuck in a person's head a month after hearing it," Bakura mumbled darkly, crossing his legs.

"Oh," Ryou said quietly, "S-sorry about that." A faint pink blush appeared on his face.

"Don't lie to me, Ryou. I know you aren't _that_ sorry," Bakura smirked, crossing his arms.

Ryou laughed and shook his head, "You're right, I'm not that sorry." As soon as he said that, the doorbell went off again. "Oh, that must be more guests!" He exclaimed, jumping up off the couch. He ran out of the room, saying under his breath,

"-or trick-or-treaters."

Ryou left the two alone again. Marik continued to eat his cupcake, tapping his foot to the beat of the song and smiling.

"I swear, Marik, if you sing that when we get home, I will kill you in your sleep," Bakura growled, scowl on his face.

"Sure you will," Marik laughed, mouth full of food.

((I almost forgot to explain what puppy chow is!

Where I'm from, puppy chow us a snack/dessert. It's Chex cereals coated in chocolate and powdered sugar or cocoa. It's really popular at my youth group, and it's quickly become one of my favorite snacks. Its just the right mix of chocately goodness and crunchiness to make me happy. :D))


	3. Part 3- Quest for Candy

((Feefshipping incoming. Prepare yourself.))

"-And do you remember what Téa was wearing?" Marik asked excitedly as he and Bakura walked down the dark street in the crisp night air, "It was the worst Cat Woman costume I've ever seen! It's like, that's not even _close_ to what _any of_ them wore!"

"Marik, I don't think she was Cat Woman; I think she was just a cat," Bakura said, trying to keep up with the random pace of Marik's stride. He'd slow down, speed up, stop, start, then slow down again.

"Oh," Marik paused, stopping on the sidewalk for a moment. He started again as he continued, "Then, it was a terrible cat costume."

"I thought it was okay," Bakura shrugged, silently gritting his teeth as he found himself having to power walk to catch up with his partner-in-crime.

"I don't see how anyone could think that; she looked _nothing_ like you," Marik said, gesturing with his hands. He stopped again, then asked, "By the way, are we close to this neighborhood yet?"

"For the millionth time, Marik, I'm _not a cat,_ " Bakura growled, finally catching up to him. "And yes, we're almost there. But, for Zorc's sake, could you _please_ quit stopping and going like we're stuck in traffic?"

"Could of fooled me," Marik said, slinging an arm over Bakura's shoulder. "And fine, I guess I'll walk like a normal human being," He said the most sarcastic and condescending voices he could, waving with free hand to drive the point home. "But, do you know how hard that is when you're as excited as I am? I mean, this will be the most villainous thing we've done since we crashed that one convention and told everyone that Dan Green was at the McDonald's a few blocks down."

Bakura scowled at the cat comment, and again at the sarcastic quip from Marik. He chuckled at the memory of the convention, however, and added, "Yes, that _was_ pretty evil. Lying, forcing them to run, then making them step inside one of the most evil businesses ever constructed by mortals. Good times"

Marik nodded in agreement. They walk in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Marik asked, "You _did_ remember to grab everything you needed when we stopped by our place, right?"

"Yup," Bakura nodded before taking a quick glance inside his plastic shopping bag. "My deck, my knife, Ring," he listed, touching the Ring that hung around his neck to confirm it hadn't been left behind.

"Good, because _that_ would have been embarrassing," Marik nodded. He lifted up the pillowcase he had brought and said, "And I have everything I need right in here!"

"Well, good, because we're here," Bakura said, stopping before they turned onto the street. "Ready to split up?"

"Yup!" Marik answered happily. "I'll take the left, you take the right. Meet here in an hour."

"You got it!" Bakura confirmed as he ran off to go find some kids. Marik nodded, then ran in the other direction. This was going to be a good plan.

/\\\

Marik knelt down to be at eye level with the pirate girl. "Look, I'm the Halloween police," he explained, "And you've committed a serious crime. I'll let you go easy, this time, if you give me some of your candy in exchange."

The girl pondered for a moment, putting her finger to her chin. She nodded her head, "Okay." She then reached into her plastic pumpkin and grabbed a handful of candy. She then dropped the candy unceremoniously into Marik's pillowcase, before patting him on the head. "Bye, Mr. Mummy-police-man!" she called happily as she skipped happily to the next house.

/\\\

How long had Bakura been sitting behind this bush? He wasn't sure, but he did know that if someone didn't walk by soon, his legs were going to cramp up. Thankfully, right as Bakura was thinking this, he heard a little girl calling out behind her, "Okay, I'm going to this next house to see if they have candy!"

Bakura smirk, then prepared himself to strike. As the girl dressed as a chef passed the bush, Bakura jumped out and yelled really loudly. The girl screamed and ran down the sidewalk, clutching her plastic pumpkin close to her chest.

"Really?!" Bakura yelled after her, not moving from his stop behind the bush, "For Zorc's sake, you didn't even drop you candy!"

/\\\

"Prepare your Duel Monster's deck, small fairy princess, because I challenge you to a duel!" Marik exclaimed as he jumped in front of the little girl.

The girl blinked in surprise, then asked, "What's Duel Monsters?"

/\\\

"How much candy have you gotten?" Marik asked, trying to peak into Bakura's shopping bag.

"Five pieces, tops," Bakura said, also trying to look into Marik's candy stash. "What about you?"

"The same, pretty much," Marik mumbled, taking a rock out of the pillowcase, "And this rock, somehow."

"Well, look, there's a group of kids coming this way. Why don't we work together and get _all_ their candy?" Bakura asked with his infamous evil grin.

"Excellent idea, Fluffy! They'll never know what hit them!" Marik exclaimed, before dusting off his outfit to prepare himself.

The group of kids stopped when they reached Marik and Bakura. The group consisted on two girls and two boys, ranging in age from 5 to 10. The oldest in the group, a boy in a baseball player uniform, stepped forward and asked, "What do ya want?"

"Oh, not much," Bakura shrugged coyly, before saying darkly, "Just _all your candy!"_

The kids in the group blinked. One of the girls, probably around seven or eight years old, bluntly retorted, "No." The entire group broke into laughter.

"Don't laugh at us!" Marik pouted, stomping his foot. "I command you to stop!"

"Oh yeah, make me!" the baseball player laughed, putting his hands on his hips.

"Fine, you asked for it!" Marik warned as he rummaged inside his pillowcase for the Rod. "Aha!" He exclaimed as he pulled out the Item. "Prepare to become my newest mind slave, future Steve," Marik said, then he stuck his tongue out at the kid.

That was a terrible mistake on Marik's fault, because as soon as his tongue was out, the boy had swung his leg around and kicked him in the knee.

"What the fri- Ow!" Marik yelped, clutching his knee and falling to the ground, "Frig, _ow_! That really- Hey, wait!" he called as the kids ran down the street, "You can't just round-house kick a guy in the knee and run off!"

Bakura started to run after them, but then he realized he couldn't exactly leave Marik laid out on the sidewalk to writhe in pain. He went over quickly to Marik's side and knelt down. "Are you okay?" he asked, "Here, let me look at it."

I'm okay, I guess," Marik mumbled. He winced a little as he straightened his leg to let Bakura look at it. "It doesn't hurt _that_ bad," he said quietly, "I was just... kind of shocked. It all happened so fast..."

"Yeah, it was kind of a blur," Bakura nodded as he unwrapped the bandages from around Marik's knee. After he had looked at the red spot that had formed, and gingerly prodded it, he concluded, "Not badly injured, but it may be bruised tomorrow."

"Lovely stuff," Marik deadpanned, moving to stand up. After Bakura helped him back on his feet, he said, "You know what? Screw this 'stealing candy from kids' crap. We're going to the store and buying our own frigging candy. Then we can go home and do something that _doesn't_ involve me getting injured."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Bakura smiled, "It'll all be on sale now, so it's a win-win in _my_ book."

"Couldn't of said it better myself," Marik said as he began to limp down the sidewalk into town.

/\\\

As they walked, Marik leaned against Bakura's shoulder for support. Bakura wrapped his arm around Marik's waist. He then planted a kiss on Marik's exposed forehead. Marik blushed at the kiss, the playfully pushed the other away.

""Kura, not in public!" he whined, before giggling, "We don't want people to get the wrong idea!"

Bakura laughed as Marik nudged him away. "But Marik," he whined back in the same joking tone, "We'll never get there if you keep pushing me!" He then teased, "Don't make me carry you bridal-style all the way there."

It was Marik's turn to laugh, "I dare you!"

"Fine, you ask for it," Bakura shrugged before sliding his arm to below Marik's arms and lifting him up gingerly.

Once Marik was situated comfortably in Bakura's arms, he mumbled, "Ooooo, this is nice." He then leaned his head into Bakura's chest.

"You must be really tired," Bakura smiled, nuzzling Marik's hair for a moment, "-or drunk."

"mm-hm," Marik yawned, then nodded, "I'll be less sleepy once I get some candy in my system."

"Then I better hurry!" Bakura exclaimed happily as he quickened his pace. Marik closed his eyes slowly and dozed off, listening to the sound of Bakura's heartbeat as the night air blew by.

/\\\

Marik took the lollipop from his mouth as he looked at his cards thoughtfully. "Got any two's?" He asked.

"No, go fish," Bakura said, stretching his back.

"Lies!" Marik exclaimed, pointing the lollipop is accusation. "There is no pile to fish from, so you HAVE to have the last two!"

"I'm telling you, I don't!" Bakura defended, reaching for a piece of candy from the bowl between them. "Maybe you lost it, Marik."

"I just bought this deck, there is _no_ way it came missing a card!" Marik complained, crawling over ungracefully to look at Bakura's hand. "You little cheat!" He said when he say his opponent's hand, "How long have you had that seven?"

"Since the beginning of the game," Bakura grinned.

"Okay, that's it, no more candy for you!" Marik said, picking up the bowl and hopping on the couch.

"Oh, come on, that's no fair!" Bakura whined, plopping on the couch beside Marik, "I paid for half of it!"

"You should of thought of that when you decided to cheat," Marik said sternly, taking a piece and sticking it in his mouth to assert his dominance.

Bakura laid his head on Marik's lap and looked up at him with the biggest eyes he could, "I'm sorry," He said in probably his most sincere voice.

Marik looked away for a moment, then nodded his head. "I accept your apology," he said.

Bakura grinned, then shifted to a more comfortable position on Marik's lap. They stayed on the couch the rest of the night, eating candy and joking about everything that had happened that day. At some point in the early hours of the morning, they fell asleep, breathing and heartbeat evening out to a quiet, steady rhythm.

((Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Oh, and Happy Halloween!))


End file.
